10 Days to Go

Continuing to chug through my final review, I've plotted out the next ten days so I can get a thorough re-read through the LOS for each chapter, do practice questions for each section (either a set of 50 or 100 depending of if it is a large or small topic), and then will do 3 mock exams and see where I sit.  I've got the 2010, 2011 and 2012 CFAI mocks which should be a good gauge.

Overall I am feeling pretty good though this is also a stressful time for us dealing with moving, immigration/work visa issues, and with lots of travel coming up in the near future.

My final review approach has generally basically been this:

• Pick a topic (fixed income, econ, etc)
• Use the online SchweserPro (aka Qbank) and click to the LOS
• Check through each LOS one by one - Schweser gives you a very broad brushstrokes for each LOS right on the screen
• Click by the LOS you know well (some are very short/easy), write the ones you don't know well, and study the ones you need to know formulas for
• Finish going through all LOS and write any further questions you have
• Do a set of 50 or 100 problems on that topic, and then review all mistakes and uncertainties

Sometimes a topic takes a day, sometimes two or three days.  So far I have worked through Economics, FSA, fixed income, and alternative investments, and am averaging in the 80+ percent range when drilling the topics alone, after having reviewed them.  I'm curious to see how this will translate over when I need to do each topic later on, and in combination with the other topics.  Over the next few days I'll finish doing the same for equity, quant, corp fin, derivatives and portfolio management.

I plan to take my first mock exam this Saturday at 10 am - precisely one week before the real thing - and this should show me any weak areas.  Then I will work on the weaknesses, and take another mock.  

After that, I plan to review ethics - exhaust the ~500 questions in the Qbank (have already done 100, scoring 75% exactly) - to make sure I have those down (the best way to do ethics is just drill all the questions - there are only so many good, testable scenarios/situations and many of them repeat).  Assuming sufficient time I think I will also look over the blue box examples in the CFAI Ethics materials.

Can't wait until this is all over.

Exam Instructions

Thought it might be interesting/useful for people to see what you can/cannot do at the actual exam on test day.  This is the pre-screen for when you go to print your exam admission ticket.  Credit to CFAI.

____________

Before accessing your exam admission ticket you must read and agree to the following:
You are required, without exception, to adhere to all published testing policies and follow all instructions announced on exam day.
BEFORE EXAM DAY
You are strongly encouraged to visit your test center before exam day. Directions and special instructions are available for most test centers. It is your responsibility to read and understand all information about your test center.
Many local CFA Institute member societies host events at the test center or after the exam.

ON EXAM DAY You must attend both the morning and afternoon sessions or your exam will not be graded and you will not receive results. If you do not sit for the morning session, you will not be permitted to sit for the afternoon session.
You must report to the test center at least one hour before each session in order to be checked in and seated. The testing room doors will be closed prior to the start of each session for reading the instructions and late candidates will not be allowed to enter the testing room until after the exam begins. Instructions will not be repeated and no additional testing time will be granted for candidates who are admitted after the start of the exam.
The following items must remain on your desk at all times. No exceptions will be made to these rules:
1. Exam Admission Ticket: Print one copy of your admission ticket on clean, unused paper. You will not be permitted to enter the testing room without a valid ticket.
2. Identification: CFA Institute requires an international travel passport from every candidate. In order for your passport to be considered valid it must meet all of the following criteria: 1) Be a current (not expired) international travel passport. 2) Include a recognizable photograph on the passport data page. 3) Contain your name, date of birth, passport number, expiration date, and country of issuance. 4) Exactly match the information you provided to CFA Institute. 5) Be an original document. Photocopies will not be accepted. You will not be permitted to sit for the exam with an invalid passport. Failure by proctors to detect an invalid passport does not imply the passport is valid or that your results will ultimately be reported. This policy applies to all new and returning candidates.
3. Calculator: You may use only the Texas Instruments BAII Plus (including the BAII Plus Professional) and/or the Hewlett Packard 12C (including the HP 12C Platinum, 12C Platinum 25th anniversary edition, 12C 30th anniversary edition, and HP 12C Prestige) during the exam. No other calculators are permitted. Possession or use of an unauthorized calculator at the test center will result in CFA Institute voiding your exam results and may lead to suspension or termination of your candidacy in the CFA Program. Calculator covers are permitted in the testing room. The Texas Instruments BAII Plus cover contains a keystroke card; the Hewlett Packard 12C has keystrokes printed on the back of the calculator. You may refer to these keystroke instructions during the exam. CFA Institute advises you to place fresh batteries in your calculator on the day before the exam.
4. Writing Instruments: You must bring your own writing instruments on exam day; testing personnel will not provide these to candidates. You must dispose of any packaging before entering the testing room. You must bring your own sharpened No. 2 or HB pencils and Level III candidates (June exam only) must also bring pens (with blue or black ink) for the essay portion of the exam. Pencil sharpeners will not be provided at the test center.
The following items may be kept on your desk, if needed: loose calculator batteries (no packaging) and screwdriver for battery replacement, earplugs, erasers, with no paper holder or cover, eyeglasses, but not the eyeglasses case, pencil sharpeners (no knives), and wristwatches (analog and digital are acceptable); however, audible alarms and/or audible timers must be turned off.
The following items are permitted in the testing room but must remain in your pockets or under your chair when not in use: wallet (money purse), medicine, tissues, and other necessary medical or personal items, gum, hard candy, cough drops, eyeglasses case.
The following items are not permitted in the testing room: food and drinks; baggage of any kind, including transparent bags, backpacks, handbags, tote bags, briefcases, luggage, carrying cases, or pencil cases; study materials, including notes, papers, textbooks, or study guides; scratch paper, present/future value tables, or calculator manuals; highlighters, correction fluid, correction tape, or rulers; knives of any type, including box cutters; mobile phones, MP3 players, cameras, pagers, headsets, computers, electronic organizers, personal data assistants, or any other remote communication or photographic devices; any type of desk clock or timer.
Proctors and security personnel may ask to inspect your belongings at check-in to ensure that prohibited items are not carried into the testing room. Please comply with these requests.
IMPORTANT EXAM RULES TO REMEMBER You are bound by the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct (Code and Standards). To comply with the Code and Standards during the exam administration process, you must conduct yourself in a respectful and dignified manner and adhere to published testing policies, proctors' verbal instructions, and the candidate pledge printed on each morning session exam book or answer sheet. It is important that you remember to read and sign the pledge. Rules have been disseminated in various formats, including registration information, and the website. Failure to follow any of the CFA Institute published rules will result in cancellation of your scores and may lead to disciplinary sanction:
• You must not: bring prohibited personal belongings into the testing room; speak to anyone other than a proctor during the exam; glance or look at another candidate’s exam or give the appearance of doing so; continue to write or erase after time is called; open the exam book until instructed to do so by the proctor; write on anything other than your exam book or answer sheet, including your exam admission ticket; remove exam materials from the testing room; leave the testing room during the final 30 minutes of the exams except for brief toilet breaks; exit and re-enter the designated testing area during the exams, except during the lunch break; create a disturbance; fail to follow the directions of testing personnel; or share information about exam content with anyone else, including other candidates.
• You must: bring only one copy of your admission ticket printed on clean, unused paper to the test center; give your exam materials and photo identification to the proctor before leaving the testing room for brief toilet breaks; remain seated at the conclusion of the exams until all materials have been collected and reconciled.
By clicking “I agree” below:
I attest that I have read, understood, and agreed to follow the above conditions, requirements, policies, and procedures for the CFA Program. Further, I understand that a violation of any rules and regulations of the CFA Program will result in CFA Institute voiding my exam results and may lead to suspension or termination of my candidacy in the CFA Program.

16 days to go

About quarter to 1 am on a Thursday night.

Lately an average day has been waking between 9 and noon, and then studying with fairly minimal breaks until midnight or later, meaning the studying is around 12 hours a day.

At this point I have made a calendar so I can go back through each topic, in order of weakest to strongest, and go through the LOS in the online Qbank and work through the practice problems.  I'm also hoping to be able to go over the end of chapter questions, however the priority is on the qbank for now as I feel like the EOCs tend to be more involved in some cases than what one would see on the exam, though they are great for building understanding on weaker areas.

I'm currently working through FR&A, which is a major portion of the CFA and one of my weaker subjects.  I'm finding the second time through the materials to be very helpful in firming things up, and now that I've done more practice questions I realize every single detail in the Schweser Notes is important.  Basically I am cruising through the Schweser Notes once again and writing down any details that I want to firm up.

I finished ethics and Econ just before this, and Econ was a huge pain because I was working off of the 2010 Schweser notes, without knowing that the CFAI totally revamped the econ section - so many of the sections I had to learn for the first time.  I was dying for a fresh Schweser book at that point but I managed to muddle through the CFAI materials for both Micro and Macro in about 3 days.  Exchange rates is a really painful chapter so I am hoping the Qbank LOS and review can help me there.

I'm averaging a wide band in the Qbank quizzes, from 60-80+ percent - so I am around the range, but I think with more and more practice you find your weak topics and fill in the areas.  Practicing with the Qbank has been invaluable.  It is like having a tutor there to explain how to do the problems and what the important topics are, as well as tricks to look out for.  CFA problems require alot of memorization, yes, but also common sense and a good deal of analytical thinking to see what they are trying to ask and what they are looking for you to do, quickly.  This just comes with time.

I'll say that just reviewing the Schweser materials for the first time, you don't really get a grasp on how important each little bullet and note is.  I'd recommend first time CFAers get their hands on a mock exam first thing, before looking at any materials, to get an idea of the depth and breadth of knowledge you will need to do well.

Ok, back to studying.

Update and some study tips on the LOS

21 days to go time.

I'm now in the process of going back over all of the material topic by topic, and drilling by doing practice problems.  I ordered Schweser's Quicksheet, which is a great 3 panel 2 sided summary of key formulas and concepts, and the SchweserPro online question bank which should also help firm things up a bit.

Ethics continues to be difficult - apparently the key to nailing ethics is just repetition.  Lots and lots and lots of practice questions and analysing every answer and reasons for it.  CFAI tends to try and find the one exception to the rule so that something that seems like it is clearly wrong or even unjust will actually be allowable under the rules.

With such a large body of knowledge to absorb, the task can seem a bit daunting but I've found comfort recently in the following key statement:

CFAI are actually very specific and realistic when it comes to what you need to know in detail, and what you just need to know in general.

The Learning Objective Statements, which I at first mostly ignored, are actually a key way to figure out how test examiners approach the topics.  While the CFAI materials themselves will go into detailed math about oscillation methods of technical analysis, for example, the LOS only says "describe common technical analysis indicators: price based, momentum oscillators, sentiment, flow of funds."  This means that a test write SHOULD only be able to ask you to DESCRIBE each of these, and not ask you to calculate or interpret.  CFAI even go so far as to define what each of the words like describe, analyze, calcuate, etc. mean in terms of the LOS and what is expected of candidates.

This is why the SchweserNotes are built around the LOS.

So at this point, my strategy is to go back through all the LOS - CFAI has a handy PDF that puts them all in a 51 page document - and simply mark off the ones I feel comfortable with, and note the ones I need more work on or that require formula memorization.  Historically - Schweser says - the CFA level I is not so much about making you remember formulas as it is about understanding the concepts.  This seems to agree with the LOS.

Back to studying.